Andrew Havill as Sven Hjerson
Sven Hjerson is the fictional detective created by author Ariadne Oliver. He is Finnish and a vegetarian. In the first novel of Mrs Oliver featuring him, he was around thirty-five, and at the time of Mrs McGinty's Dead he is 60. Robin Upward wanted to make a stage play about him, and suggested that Sven Hjerson's part could have been played by Cecil Leech.
It seems that the issues that Ariadne was facing about continuing to write about Sven, mirrors those Agatha Christie had about writing about Hercule Poirot.
Books featuring Sven Hjerson[]
Although it isn’t definite which of Ariadne Oliver's books feature Sven Hjerson, these are the books written by her>
- The Lotus Murder (mentioned in Cards on the Table)
- The Clue of the Candle Wax (mentioned in Cards on the Table)
- The Body in the Library (mentioned in Cards on the Table)
- The Death in the Drain Pipe (mentioned in Cards on the Table)
- The Affair of the Second Goldfish (mentioned in Cards on the Table and Mrs McGinty's Dead)
- The Cat it Was Who Died (mentioned in Mrs McGinty's Dead)
- Death of a Debutante (mentioned in Mrs McGinty's Dead)
- The Woman in the Wood (mentioned in and based on her experiences from Dead Man's Folly)
- The Dying Goldfish (mentioned in Hallowe'en Party)
- The White Cockatoo (mentioned in The Pale Horse)
- The Second Goldfish (mentioned/suggested in Elephants Can Remember)
Adaptations[]
Agatha Christie's Poirot (2009)[]
In the adaptation of The Clocks for Agatha Christie's Poirot, Poirot is seen watching The Good Samaritan; a play by Mrs. Oliver featuring Sven Hjerson. The actor portraying Hjerson on stage (played by Andrew Havill) is depicted as red haired, with a long bushy beard.
Agatha Christie's Hjerson (2021)[]
In the 2021 Swedish television series Agatha Christie's Hjerson, he is portrayed by actor Johan Rheborg.